Sid Luckman
Encyclopedia
Sidney Luckman, known as Sid Luckman, (November 21, 1916 – July 5, 1998) was an American football
quarterback
for the Chicago Bears
of the National Football League
(NFL) from 1939 to 1950. During his 12 seasons with the Bears he led them to four NFL championships.
Luckman was the first modern T-formation quarterback and is considered the greatest long range passer
of his time. He was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player in 1943, and Pulitzer prize
winning sports writer Ira Berkow
wrote that Luckman was "the first great T-formation quarterback". Following his retirement from playing, Luckman continued his association with football by tutoring college coaches, focusing on the passing aspect of the game.
Luckman was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
in 1965, and in 1988 he was declared a joint winner of the Walter Camp Distinguished American Award
.
, New York, to Jewish immigrants from Germany. His father sparked his interest in American football at age eight, by giving him a football
to play with. He and his parents lived in a residence near Prospect Park
and it was here as a youngster that Sid first started throwing the football around.
He played both baseball
and football for Erasmus Hall High School
, with his football skills impressing recruiters from about 40 colleges. Luckman chose Columbia University
after meeting Lions coach Lou Little
during a Columbia/Navy
game at the university's Baker Field athletic facility. Despite being sought after by numerous colleges, Columbia never offered Luckman a scholarship. The university did however provide him with opportunities to work so that he could pay his own way through college.
At Columbia he was a member of the Zeta Beta Tau
fraternity. Sid, keen to remain in Columbia to stay close to his family, took on jobs such as dish-washing, baby-sitting, and messenger delivery around the campus. At Columbia, as a part of the football team, he completed 180 of 376 passes for 2,413 yards and 20 touchdown
s and finished third in the 1938 Heisman Trophy
voting, behind Davey O'Brien
and Marshall Goldberg
.
, Chicago Bears owner and coach
George Halas
believed Luckman had the ability to become an effective T-formation quarterback, and traveled to New York to watch him play. Halas then convinced the Pittsburgh Pirates (football team)
to draft Luckman second overall and then trade him to the Bears because he was interested in using Luckman's skills to help him restructure the offensive side of the game. However, despite his successes at Columbia University, Luckman initially declined any further interest in pro football, instead preferring to work for his father-in-law’s trucking company. Halas went to work on convincing him otherwise. After gaining an invitation to Luckman's tiny apartment for a dinner which Luckman's wife Estelle prepared, Halas produced a contract for $5,500 ($ today) which Luckman immediately signed. At that time both at the college and pro levels, offenses were a drab scrum of running the ball with only occasional passes. In what was then the predominant single-wing
formation, the quarterback was primarily a blocking back and rarely touched the ball. Most passing was done by the tailback, and then usually only on third down with long yardage to go. Halas and his coaches, primarily Clark Shaughnessy
, invented a rather complex scheme building on the traditional T-formation, but needed the right quarterback to run it properly.
Upon starting with Halas, Luckman mastered an offense that revolutionized football, and became the basis of most modern professional offenses. Eventually, Luckman tutored college coaches across the Big Ten, Notre Dame
and West Point in the intricacies of the passing game.
and the Washington Redskins
. The Redskins had beaten the Bears 7–3 during the regular season. Using the "man-in-motion" innovation to great advantage, the Bears destroyed the Redskins 73–0, stated to be the most one-sided game in the history of the sport. Luckman passed only six times, with four completions and 102 yards in the rout.
From 1940 to 1946 the Bears displayed their dominance in the game, playing in five NFL championship games, winning four, and posted a 54–17–3 regular season record. In 1942, the Bears posted a perfect 11–0 record and outscored their opponents 376–84, however they lost the championship game to the Redskins. Although the T-formation had been used many years before Luckman joined the Chicago Bears, he was central to Chicago's successful use of this style of play because of his game-sense and versatility. Perfecting Halas' complex offensive scheme of fakes, men in motion, and quick hitting runs, Luckman added the dimension of accurate downfield throwing. He was instrumental in his team's record-setting 73–0 over the Washington Redskins
in the 1940 NFL championship game. Sportscaster Jimmy Cannon
once said in reference to Luckman's years at Columbia, "You had to be there to realize how great Sid was." Luckman later became a sought-after tutor and instructor for universities wishing to install the T-formation as an offense.
with the U. S. Merchant Marine. He was stationed stateside and while he could not practice with the team, he did receive permission to play for the Bears on game days during the following seasons. He returned again to the Bears, as a full-time occupation, in 1946 and led them to a fifth NFL championship.
(8.6). His career touchdown rate (percentage of pass attempts that result in touchdowns) of 7.9% is easily the best in history.
In 1943, Luckman completed 110 of 202 passes for 2194 yards and 28 touchdowns. His 13.9% touchdown rate that year is the best ever in a single-season, while his 10.9 yards per attempt is second all-time. During one game that year, Luckman threw for 443 yards and seven touchdowns, still tied for the most passing touchdowns in one game; it was also the first 400-yard passing game in NFL history. His 28 touchdown passes in 1943 (in only 10 games) was a record that lasted for many years.
Luckman led the NFL in yards per attempt an NFL record seven times, including a record five consecutive years from 1939 to 1943, and led the NFL in passing yards three times. Luckman was a five-time All-NFL selection, was named the National Football League's Most Valuable Player Award in 1943, and led the "Monsters of the Midway" to championships in 1940, 1941, 1943, and 1946. Despite the fact that his career ended in 1950, Luckman still owns most major Bears' passing records, including career yards and touchdowns.
Luckman's wife Estelle Morgolin died of cancer in 1981, and he underwent a triple heart bypass operation the following year. Luckman eventually retired to Aventura, Florida
where he died on July 5, 1998 at the age of 81. He is survived by a son, Bob, and two daughters, Gale and Ellen.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
for the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) from 1939 to 1950. During his 12 seasons with the Bears he led them to four NFL championships.
Luckman was the first modern T-formation quarterback and is considered the greatest long range passer
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
of his time. He was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player in 1943, and Pulitzer prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning sports writer Ira Berkow
Ira Berkow
Ira Berkow is an American Pulitzer Prize winning sports reporter, columnist and writer.-Life:Berkow earned his BA in English Literature at Miami University, and his MA from the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University...
wrote that Luckman was "the first great T-formation quarterback". Following his retirement from playing, Luckman continued his association with football by tutoring college coaches, focusing on the passing aspect of the game.
Luckman was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 1965, and in 1988 he was declared a joint winner of the Walter Camp Distinguished American Award
Walter Camp Distinguished American Award
The Walter Camp Distinguished American Award is presented by the Walter Camp Football Foundation to an individual who has used his or her talents to attain great success in business, private life or public service and who may have accomplished that which no other has done.The recipient does not...
.
Early life
Luckman was born in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York, to Jewish immigrants from Germany. His father sparked his interest in American football at age eight, by giving him a football
Football (ball)
A football is an inflated ball used to play one of the various sports known as football.The first balls were made of natural materials, such as an inflated pig bladder, sometimes inside a leather cover...
to play with. He and his parents lived in a residence near Prospect Park
Prospect Park (Brooklyn)
Prospect Park is a 585-acre public park in the New York City borough of Brooklyn located between Park Slope, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Kensington, Windsor Terrace and Flatbush Avenue, Grand Army Plaza and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden...
and it was here as a youngster that Sid first started throwing the football around.
He played both baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
and football for Erasmus Hall High School
Erasmus Hall High School
Erasmus Hall Campus High School is a four-year public high school in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, United States operated by the New York City Department of Education....
, with his football skills impressing recruiters from about 40 colleges. Luckman chose Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
after meeting Lions coach Lou Little
Lou Little
Lou "Luigi Piccolo" Little was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Georgetown College, now Georgetown University, from 1924 to 1929 and at Columbia University from 1930 to 1956, compiling a career college football record of 151–128–13...
during a Columbia/Navy
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
game at the university's Baker Field athletic facility. Despite being sought after by numerous colleges, Columbia never offered Luckman a scholarship. The university did however provide him with opportunities to work so that he could pay his own way through college.
At Columbia he was a member of the Zeta Beta Tau
Zeta Beta Tau
Zeta Beta Tau was founded in 1898 as the nation's first Jewish fraternity, although it is no longer sectarian. Today the merged Zeta Beta Tau Brotherhood is one of the largest, numbering over 140,000 initiated Brothers, and over 90 chapter locations.-Founding:The Zeta Beta Tau fraternity was...
fraternity. Sid, keen to remain in Columbia to stay close to his family, took on jobs such as dish-washing, baby-sitting, and messenger delivery around the campus. At Columbia, as a part of the football team, he completed 180 of 376 passes for 2,413 yards and 20 touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s and finished third in the 1938 Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
voting, behind Davey O'Brien
Davey O'Brien
Robert David O'Brien was an American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football at Texas Christian University and was drafted in the first round of the 1939 NFL Draft. In 1938, O'Brien won the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, and the...
and Marshall Goldberg
Marshall Goldberg
Marshall Goldberg was an American football halfback with the Chicago Cardinals in the National Football League.- Football career :Goldberg was born in Elkins, West Virginia...
.
Draft
Hearing of Sid Luckman's exploits as a single-wing tailback at Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Chicago Bears owner and coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
George Halas
George Halas
George Stanley Halas, Sr. , nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears...
believed Luckman had the ability to become an effective T-formation quarterback, and traveled to New York to watch him play. Halas then convinced the Pittsburgh Pirates (football team)
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
to draft Luckman second overall and then trade him to the Bears because he was interested in using Luckman's skills to help him restructure the offensive side of the game. However, despite his successes at Columbia University, Luckman initially declined any further interest in pro football, instead preferring to work for his father-in-law’s trucking company. Halas went to work on convincing him otherwise. After gaining an invitation to Luckman's tiny apartment for a dinner which Luckman's wife Estelle prepared, Halas produced a contract for $5,500 ($ today) which Luckman immediately signed. At that time both at the college and pro levels, offenses were a drab scrum of running the ball with only occasional passes. In what was then the predominant single-wing
Single-wing
In American and Canadian football, a single-wing formation is any offensive formation having exactly one wingback and one tight end aligned together. The single-wing formation, created by Glenn "Pop" Warner, was a precursor to the modern spread or shotgun formation...
formation, the quarterback was primarily a blocking back and rarely touched the ball. Most passing was done by the tailback, and then usually only on third down with long yardage to go. Halas and his coaches, primarily Clark Shaughnessy
Clark Shaughnessy
Clark Daniel Shaughnessy was an American football coach and innovator. He is sometimes called the "father of the T formation", although that system had previously been used as early as the 1880s. Shaughnessy did, however, modernize the obsolescent T formation to make it once again relevant in the...
, invented a rather complex scheme building on the traditional T-formation, but needed the right quarterback to run it properly.
Upon starting with Halas, Luckman mastered an offense that revolutionized football, and became the basis of most modern professional offenses. Eventually, Luckman tutored college coaches across the Big Ten, Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
and West Point in the intricacies of the passing game.
T-formation
In 1940, during his second season with the Bears, Luckman took over the offense and led the Bears to the title game against Sammy BaughSammy Baugh
Samuel Adrian "Slingin' Sammy" Baugh was an American football player and coach. He played college football for the Horned Frogs at Texas Christian University, where he was a two-time All-American. He then played in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins from 1937 to 1952...
and the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
. The Redskins had beaten the Bears 7–3 during the regular season. Using the "man-in-motion" innovation to great advantage, the Bears destroyed the Redskins 73–0, stated to be the most one-sided game in the history of the sport. Luckman passed only six times, with four completions and 102 yards in the rout.
From 1940 to 1946 the Bears displayed their dominance in the game, playing in five NFL championship games, winning four, and posted a 54–17–3 regular season record. In 1942, the Bears posted a perfect 11–0 record and outscored their opponents 376–84, however they lost the championship game to the Redskins. Although the T-formation had been used many years before Luckman joined the Chicago Bears, he was central to Chicago's successful use of this style of play because of his game-sense and versatility. Perfecting Halas' complex offensive scheme of fakes, men in motion, and quick hitting runs, Luckman added the dimension of accurate downfield throwing. He was instrumental in his team's record-setting 73–0 over the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
in the 1940 NFL championship game. Sportscaster Jimmy Cannon
Jimmy Cannon
Jimmy Cannon was a sports journalist inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame for his coverage of the sport.-Early career:...
once said in reference to Luckman's years at Columbia, "You had to be there to realize how great Sid was." Luckman later became a sought-after tutor and instructor for universities wishing to install the T-formation as an offense.
Service with the Merchant Marine
In 1943, as soon as the season had ended, Luckman volunteered as an ensignEnsign
An ensign is a national flag when used at sea, in vexillology, or a distinguishing token, emblem, or badge, such as a symbol of office in heraldry...
with the U. S. Merchant Marine. He was stationed stateside and while he could not practice with the team, he did receive permission to play for the Bears on game days during the following seasons. He returned again to the Bears, as a full-time occupation, in 1946 and led them to a fifth NFL championship.
Numbers and accomplishments
During his career, Luckman completed 51.8% of his passes for 14,686 yards and 137 touchdowns with 134 interceptions. He averaged 8.4 yards per attempt, second all-time only to Otto GrahamOtto Graham
Otto Everett Graham, Jr. was a professional American football and basketball player who played for the Cleveland Browns in both the All-America Football Conference and National Football League, as well as the Rochester Royals in the National Basketball League.-Early life:Born in Waukegan,...
(8.6). His career touchdown rate (percentage of pass attempts that result in touchdowns) of 7.9% is easily the best in history.
In 1943, Luckman completed 110 of 202 passes for 2194 yards and 28 touchdowns. His 13.9% touchdown rate that year is the best ever in a single-season, while his 10.9 yards per attempt is second all-time. During one game that year, Luckman threw for 443 yards and seven touchdowns, still tied for the most passing touchdowns in one game; it was also the first 400-yard passing game in NFL history. His 28 touchdown passes in 1943 (in only 10 games) was a record that lasted for many years.
Luckman led the NFL in yards per attempt an NFL record seven times, including a record five consecutive years from 1939 to 1943, and led the NFL in passing yards three times. Luckman was a five-time All-NFL selection, was named the National Football League's Most Valuable Player Award in 1943, and led the "Monsters of the Midway" to championships in 1940, 1941, 1943, and 1946. Despite the fact that his career ended in 1950, Luckman still owns most major Bears' passing records, including career yards and touchdowns.
Career statistics
| Year | Team | G | Comp Completion (American football) A completion is a term used in American football when a receiver successfully catches a pass. The three possible outcomes of a pass thrown are completion, incompletion, and interception, respectively.... |
Attempts | Yards | Completion % |
TD | INT | Passer rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | Chicago | 11 | 23 | 51 | 636 | 45.1% | 5 | 4 | 91.6 |
| 1940 | Chicago | 11 | 48 | 105 | 941 | 45.7% | 4 | 9 | 54.5 |
| 1941 | Chicago | 11 | 68 | 119 | 1,181 | 57.1% | 9 | 6 | 95.3 |
| 1942 | Chicago | 11 | 57 | 105 | 1,023 | 54.3% | 10 | 13 | 80.1 |
| 1943 | Chicago | 10 | 110 | 202 | 2,194 | 54.5% | 28 | 12 | 107.5 |
| 1944 | Chicago | 7 | 71 | 143 | 1,018 | 49.7% | 11 | 12 | 63.8 |
| 1945 | Chicago | 10 | 117 | 217 | 1,727 | 53.9% | 14 | 10 | 82.5 |
| 1946 | Chicago | 11 | 110 | 229 | 1,826 | 48% | 17 | 16 | 71.0 |
| 1947 | Chicago | 12 | 176 | 323 | 2,712 | 54.5% | 24 | 31 | 67.7 |
| 1948 | Chicago | 12 | 89 | 163 | 1,047 | 54.6% | 13 | 14 | 65.1 |
| 1949 | Chicago | 11 | 22 | 50 | 200 | 44% | 1 | 3 | 37.1 |
| 1950 | Chicago | 11 | 13 | 37 | 180 | 35.1% | 1 | 2 | 38.1 |
| Totals | 128 | 904 | 1,744 | 14,685 | 51.8% | 137 | 132 | 75.0 | |
Later years
After retiring from the NFL, Luckman went to work for Cel-U-Craft, a Chicago-based manufacturer of cellophane products, eventually becoming its president. The company was a part of the Rapid American Corporation of which he also obtained shares. In 1969, RAC was the subject of an IRS investigation over the payment of these shares and dividends, a case that Luckman and his wife appealed.Luckman's wife Estelle Morgolin died of cancer in 1981, and he underwent a triple heart bypass operation the following year. Luckman eventually retired to Aventura, Florida
Aventura, Florida
Aventura is a planned, suburban city located in northeastern Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city name is from the Spanish word for "adventure", and was named "Aventura" after one of the developers of the original group of condominiums in the area remarked to the others, "What an adventure this is...
where he died on July 5, 1998 at the age of 81. He is survived by a son, Bob, and two daughters, Gale and Ellen.
List of honors
- Joe F. CarrJoseph CarrJoseph "Joe" F. Carr was the president of the National Football League from 1921 until his death in 1939. Carr was born in Columbus, Ohio. As a mechanic for the Pennsylvania Railroad in Columbus, he directed the Columbus Panhandles football team in 1907 until 1922...
Trophy – National Football League Most Valuable Player in 1943. - College Football Hall of FameCollege Football Hall of FameThe College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1960 - Pro Football Hall of FamePro Football Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 1965. - Walter Camp Distinguished American of the Year AwardWalter Camp Distinguished American AwardThe Walter Camp Distinguished American Award is presented by the Walter Camp Football Foundation to an individual who has used his or her talents to attain great success in business, private life or public service and who may have accomplished that which no other has done.The recipient does not...
in 1988. - Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
See also
- Chicago Bears seasonsChicago Bears seasonsThe Chicago Bears franchise was originally founded as the Decatur Staleys, a charter member of the American Professional Football Association . The team moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1921 and changed its name to the Bears in 1922, the same year the APFA changed its name to the National Football...
- List of select Jewish football players
External links
- Pro Football Hall of Fame: Member profile
- Jews in Sports: Profile
- The American Jewish Historical Society: AJHS profile
- New York Times Obit